Let’s start off the Reading Roundup with a little Ogden Nash:
Laments for a Dying Language – III
In the nice-minded Department of Prunes and Prisms,
It’s I for you
And euphemisms.
Hence the phrase I would eagerly jettison:
“Senior citizen.”
Shall we retranslate
Joel 2:28?
To the sociologist squeamish
The words “Your old men shall dream dreams” are less than beamish,
So “Your senior citizens shall dream dreams” it shall henceforth be,
Along with Hemingway’s “The Senior Citizen and the Sea.”
I, though no Joel, prophesy that someday while the senior citizens
are projecting the image of an age-adjusted social group,
The old men will rise up and knock them for a loop.
Hear, hear! I still remember when the good old word “secretary” had to become “administrative assistant,” like some sort of linguistic upgrade was required. I note that this poem is the third of its kind, so I’ll have to find the first two.
And staying with the poets for just a moment longer, here’s another Emily Dickinson gem:
“The Day came slow – till Five o’clock-
Then sprang before the Hills
Like Hindered Rubies – or the Light
A Sudden Musket – spills –
I love the way she sees sunrises and sunsets – in this case as if a musket full of light, like red rubies, shot forth over the horizon at dawn.
Have you ever read anything by Louis L’Amour? I just read the book Sackett, narrated by William Tell Sackett, and found much to amuse, admire, and even occasionally inspire:
“You have been led upon evil ways,” I explained, “and the way of the transgressor is hard. Seems to me the thing led you down the wrong road is that mustache.”
But the fact of the matter is, no man can shape his life according to woman’s thinking. Nor should any woman try to influence a man toward her way. There must be give and take between them, but when a man faces a man’s problems he has to face them a man’s way.
Nobody ever said much about me being good-looking—except Ma—and even Ma, with the best intentions in the world, looked kind of doubtful when she said it.
No man has the right to be ignorant. In a country like this, ignorance is a crime. If a man is going to vote, if he’s going to take part in his country and its government, then it’s up to him to understand.
More from L’Amour in the future – I didn’t want to overdo it on the first go. Apparently he has a whole series on the Sackett family – now I want to read them ALL.
And lastly, I found this next paragraph from the introduction of Douglas Wilson‘s commentary on the book of Hebrews, Christ and His Rivals, to hit the spot for me:
The biblical faith, lived as it should be lived, will always generate resistance and conflict. This should not be a surprise; it should not come as a shock. The charge we are given in this context is the charge to be strong and courageous. This means that we are in the midst of circumstances where it would be easy not to be courageous, and not to be strong. What is God’s role in this? He does the “not leaving.” He does the “not forsaking.” What do we do? We believe him when he says this, and the natural response to this faith is courage. …no matter how grim it may look, God will never forsake us.”
Amen and amen!
A wintry scene done on the Paper App by my daughter, Ruth, many moons ago. Around 72 moons ago, give or take a few moons.
I’ll probably delete this in the morning, but not until the dawn has shot forth her hindered rubies of light o’er the hills.
Lynniebeemuseoday 